Endemic Animals of Canada

The Gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is a fairly large songbird that lives in the boreal forests of North America. These birds live year-round on permanent territories, surviving in cold winter months on food cached throughout their territory in warmer periods. They also adapt to human activity in their areas and approach humans for food, inspiring a list of colloquial names including "lumberjack", "camp robber", and "venison-hawk". Less

The Newfoundland wolf (Canis lupus beothucus ) was a subspecies of grey wolf that was native to Newfoundland. As a food source, the species would prey and rely on the Newfoundland Caribou. During the autumn and early winter, some wolves would turn white while others remained dark enough to look black. Less

Bernard's wolf (Canis lupus bernardi ), also known as the Banks Island wolf or the Banks Island tundra wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was limited to Banks and Victoria Island of the Arctic Archipelago. Less

The Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis ) naturally occurs only in the high mountains of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. This particular marmot species is large compared to some other marmots, and most other rodents. Marmots as a group are the largest members of the squirrel family, with weights of adults varying from 3 to 7 kg depending on age and time of year.Although endemic to Vancouver Island, Marmota vancouverensis now ...
also resides successfully at several captive breeding centres across Canada as well as several sites on Vancouver Island at which local extinction was observed during the 1990s. This is the result of an ongoing recovery program designed to prevent extinction and restore self-sustaining wild populations of this unique Canadian species. Due to the efforts of the recovery program, the marmot count in the wild increased from fewer than 30 wild marmots in 2003, to an estimated 250–300 in 2015. Less

The giant Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima ) is the largest subspecies of Canada goose, on average weighing in at 5 kg (11 pounds). It is found in central North America. These geese were at one point considered extinct, but were later rediscovered. Less

The Arctic redpoll or hoary redpoll (Acanthis hornemanni ) is a bird species in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds in tundra birch forest. It has two subspecies, A. h. hornemanni (Greenland or Hornemann's Arctic redpoll) of Greenland and neighbouring parts of Canada, and A. h. exilipes (Coues' Arctic redpoll), which breeds in the tundra of northern North America and the Palearctic. Many birds remain in the far north; some birds migrate ...
short distances south in winter, sometimes travelling with common redpolls.The genus name Acanthis is from the Ancient Greek akanthis, a name for a small now-unidentifiable bird, and hornemanni commemorates the Danish botanist Jens Wilken Hornemann. The name "arctic redpoll" is used in Europe and "hoary redpoll" in North America. Less

The Queen Charlotte Islands caribou or Dawson's caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni ) is an extinct subspecies of the reindeer (or the caribou in North America) that once lived on Graham Island, the largest of the Haida Gwaii islands in British Columbia, Canada. Possible causes of extinction include habitat destruction, introduced disease and overhunting. It was grey in appearance. The last three caribou were killed in 1908 and can be seen at the ...
Royal British Columbia Museum, where their pelts and bones are preserved and displayed. Recent analysis of mtDNA suggests that the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou was not genetically distinct from the subspecies from the Canadian mainland. Less

The Mackenzie River wolf or Mackenzie Arctic Wolf (Canis lupus mackenzii ) is a subspecies of gray wolf which is found in Canada's southern portion of Northwest Territories. Not much has been published on Canis lupus mackenzii but one of the most comprehensive studies was done in 1954 by W.A. Fuller, Wolf Control Operations, Southern Mackenzie District, Canada Wildlife Service Report. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the ...
taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005).This wolf subspecies can be found in Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve. Less

The Newfoundland black bear (Ursus americanus hamiltoni ) is a morphologically distinct subspecies of the American black bear, which is endemic to the island of Newfoundland in Atlantic Canada. The Newfoundland black bear is generally larger than its mainland relatives, ranging in size from 90 to 270 kilograms (200 to 600 lb) and averaging 135 kilograms (298 lb). It also has one of the longest hibernation periods of any bear in North America. Less

The Hudson Bay wolf (Canis lupus hudsonicus ) is a subspecies of gray wolf native to northern Keewatin, including the northwestern coast of Hudson Bay in Canada. It was first classed as a distinct subspecies in 1941 by Edward Goldman, who described it as being a white colored, medium-sized subspecies similar to C. l. arctos, but with a flatter skull. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species ...
of the World (2005). Less

The Aleutian cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia ), is a small subspecies of the cackling goose averaging 1.7 to 2.1 kilograms (3.7 to 4.6 lb) in weight. It was one of 122 species of animals, birds, and fish first documented for science by the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Corps of Discovery). Less

Kumlien's gull (Larus glaucoides kumlieni ) is a subspecies of the Iceland gull. It is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada. It is migratory, wintering from Labrador south to New England and west across the Great Lakes. The subspecies is named after the naturalist Ludwig Kumlien. It is a regular vagrant in small numbers to Britain and Ireland.It has variably been considered a full species, a subspecies of Thayer's gull, a ...
subspecies of Iceland gull, and a hybrid between the aforementioned species, all of which are considered subspecies of the Iceland gull as of 2017.This gull was first described as a new species Larus kumlieni by William Brewster in 1883 based on a specimen obtained by Ludwig Kumlien from the Cumberland Sound during the Howgate Arctic Expedition. This taxon breeds colonially or singly on coasts and cliffs, making a nest lined with grass, moss or seaweed on the ground or cliff. Normally, two or three light brown eggs are laid.The taxon is pale in all plumage, with a remarkably variable amount of pigment in the primaries. Individuals range from completely white-winged (indistinguishable from nominate L. glaucoides Iceland gull) to so dark in the wings as to be indistinguishable from Thayer's gull. Eye color is also variable, from pale yellow to dark brown. Such remarkable variation seems to lend credence to the belief that Kumlien's gull is in fact a hybrid swarm.Kumlien's gulls average smaller overall and much smaller-billed than the very large glaucous gull and are usually smaller than herring gull. The taxon reaches adult plumage in four to five years. The call is a "laughing" cry like the herring gull's, but higher pitched.These are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they scavenge and seek suitable small prey. These birds forage while flying, picking up food at or just below the water's surface, and feed while walking or swimming. Their scavenging habits lead them to frequent garbage dumps, sewage outlets, and places where fish are cleaned. Less

The Newfoundland red crossbill is a member of the crossbill genus which has its crossed bill adapted for prying open the tightly closed spruce or pine cones in order to extract the seeds found abundantly on the island of Newfoundland.It was thought to be fully endemic to Newfoundland, but breeding has been found on Anticosti island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, administratively part of Quebec.It is known locally as the spruce mope. About 5.5 to ...
6.5 inches in length, wing about 3.75 inches and its bill.70 inches. The adult male is a dull red which is somewhat brighter on the rump, with wings and tail black in color. The adult female is an olive-gray with yellow on the rump and often on the under parts, the wings and tail a dark grayish. Juveniles vary in color from olive-green to yellow to reddish.They nest in conifers building their nest from twigs or strips of bark and lining it with mosses, hair or fur. They lay 4 to 5 eggs which are greenish-blue, spotted with brown and lavender.The local name refers to their slow movements while feeding in the spruce tops. They can be seen in mixed company with the slightly larger white-winged crossbill.The taxonomy of the bird has been questioned. Less

The Baffin Island wolf (Canis lupus manningi ), also known as the Baffin Island tundra wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf which resides exclusively on Baffin Island and several nearby islands. It was not formally recognized as a subspecies until 1943, when it was given its taxonomic classification by Anderson. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005). Less

The Haida Gwaii black bear (Ursus americanus carlottae ), also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands black bear, is a morphologically distinct subspecies of the American black bear. The most significant morphological differences are its large size, massive cranium and large molars. This subspecies is endemic to the Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) and is considered a "keystone species" because of the bears' transportation of ...
salmon remains into the surrounding forests of the Haida Gwaii. Less

The Ogilvie Mountains collared lemming (Dicrostonyx nunatakensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found only in Yukon Territory, Canada.Its natural habitat is tundra. Less

The maritime shrew (Sorex maritimensis ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada. Less

The Banff Springs snail (Physella johnsoni ) is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail in the family Physidae.Based on molecular research, it appears that Physella johnsoni separated out as a species from Physella gyrina about 10,000 years ago. Less

The amethyst gem clam (Gemma gemma ) is species of very small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.It is a small species, reaching a length of only 5 mm. The shell color is whitish or grayish, suffused with purple on both outer and inner surfaces.The species is native to the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador to Texas, but it is now also found as an introduced species in some locations on ...
the Pacific coast. Less

Thyasira trisinuata, common name the "Atlantic cleft clam", is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Thyasiridae. This species is found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Nova Scotia to the West Indies. Less

Yoldia myalis, or the comb yoldia, is a clam in the family Yoldiidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Labrador to Massachusetts, as well as along the Alaskan coast. Less

Aldisa tara is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cadlinidae. Less